U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,584,962 and 5,580,417 disclose devices that can be used for performing an adhesive transfer operation wherein pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to one side of a selected substrate, such as a printed label or a photograph. These devices each comprise a frame, structure for mounting a set of supply rolls, a pair of nip rollers for applying pressure to the substrates being advanced therethrough, and a manual crank handle for imparting rotation to the nip rollers. One of the supply rolls carries a wound-up supply of an adhesive carrying substrate coated on one side thereof with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive. The other supply roll carries a wound-up supply of an adhesive mask substrate that has a greater affinity for adhesive bonding than the adhesive carrying substrate.
To perform an adhesive transfer operation using the devices of the aforementioned patents, the mask and adhesive carrying substrates are unwound and fed in between the nip rollers with the adhesive layer engaging the mask substrate. Then, the selected substrate is fed into the nip roller between the adhesive carrying and mask substrates and the user rotates the crank handle to rotate the nip rollers. The rotation of the nip rollers advances the substrates therethrough and discharges them out from the device. The rotation of the nip rollers also applies pressure to the substrates so that the adhesive bonds or adheres to the selected substrate and any portion of the mask substrate extending around the periphery of the selected substrate.
The user then cuts the bonded substrates and peels the mask substrate back from the adhesive carrying substrate to uncover the selected substrate. As the mask substrate is peeled back, any excess adhesive around the periphery of the selected substrate remains bonded to the mask substrate and is removed from the adhesive carrying substrate. Thus, the user can discard the mask substrate, and peel back the selected substrate for adherence to a contact surface as desired. Because the excess adhesive around the periphery of the selected substrate is removed along with the mask substrate, the portions of the adhesive carrying substrate are relatively clean, thereby reducing the potential for adhesive sticking to the user's hands as he/she peels back the selected substrate.
While the devices of the '962 and '417 patents have proven quite effective at the above-described adhesive transfer operation, the costs associated with purchasing these devices can be prohibitive for the occasional user who does not plan on using the device on a regular basis. To date, unless the occasional user is willing to invest in such a device, the only commercially available options are prior adhesive transfer devices, such as glue sticks or spray-on adhesives.
Furthermore, the commercial embodiments of the devices disclosed in the '962 and '417 patents use supply rolls that range between 8 ½ inches and 25 inches in axial length. For users that desire to make small labels, such as 2 inches by 2 inches, for example, these patented devices may not necessarily be the most cost-effective solutions. In other words, the user may end up with “too much” machine for his small label making needs.
Consequently, there exists a need in the art for a small, hand-held adhesive transfer device that can be manufactured at a low cost, which results in a lower cost machine for the ultimate end user.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to meet the above-described need. To achieve this object, one aspect of the invention provides a hand-held actuatorless adhesive transfer device for performing an adhesive transfer operation wherein adhesive is applied to a selected substrate. The device comprises a frame having a feeding side and a discharge side. The frame is sized and configured to be received in one hand of a user for manual handling and transport. A first supply roll is rotatably mounted within the frame and carries a wound up supply of an adhesive carrying substrate that has an adhesive carrying surface coated with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive. A second supply roll is rotatably mounted and carries a wound up supply of an adhesive mask substrate. The adhesive carrying substrate is unwound from the first supply roll with a lead end portion thereof extending outwardly from the discharge side of the frame. The mask substrate is unwound from the second supply roll with a lead end portion thereof extending outwardly from the discharge side of the frame adjacent the lead end portion of the carrying substrate.
The frame is constructed and arranged to enable the adhesive transfer operation to be initiated by manually grasping the frame with one hand and inserting a leading edge portion of the selected substrate between the adhesive carrying and mask substrates. The adhesive transfer device further comprising pressure applying structure constructed and arranged such that the adhesive transfer operation can be continued while continuing to manually grasp the frame with the one hand by manually grasping the lead end portions of the adhesive carrying and mask substrates at the discharge side of the frame with the other hand and manually pulling the lead end portions so as to advance the mask, adhesive carrying, and selected substrates together outwardly from the discharge side of the frame. The pressure applying structure applies pressure to the substrates being advanced through the device, thereby causing the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the adhesive carrying substrate to bond to the selected substrate.
Because the device constructed in accordance with this aspect of the invention is hand-held, material costs can be realized over the larger sized prior devices discussed above. Further, because the device is “actuatorless” and instead is operated by pulling on the lead end portion of the substrates, the manufacturing costs associated with making the actuator and connecting the same to associated components within the frame is obviated. Thus, the object of providing a low cost, hand-held adhesive transfer device has been effectively achieved.
Another disadvantage of the prior art devices discussed above is that they are not well-suited for applying adhesive to the edge of a selected substrate. For example, with a large window sign it may be desirable to apply adhesive only to the edge portions so as to make the sign easier to remove after mounting and to reduce the potential for residual adhesive sticking to the window glass. Instead, the device is adapted to apply adhesive over the entire substrate and the only plausible way of limiting the application of adhesive to the edge is by covering the portion that is not to receive adhesive with another substrate during the operation. However, performing such an operation is inefficient and ends up wasting the material used to cover the portion that is not to be adhered. Further, such an operation is not intuitive and it may not be appreciated by many users that such an option is available.
Consequently, there exists a need in the art for an adhesive transfer device that can be used to apply adhesive to the edge portion of a selected substrate. To achieve this object, another aspect of the invention provides an adhesive transfer device for performing an adhesive transfer operation wherein adhesive is applied to one side of a side edge portion of a selected substrate. The device comprises a frame having a feeding side and a discharge side. A first supply roll is rotatably mounted within the frame and carries a wound up supply of an adhesive carrying substrate that has an adhesive carrying surface coated with a layer of pressure-sensitive adhesive. A second supply roll is rotatably mounted within the frame and carries a wound up supply of an adhesive mask substrate that has a mask surface.
The frame has a substrate receiving opening extending from the feeding side thereof to the discharge side thereof and opening to an exterior of the frame. The substrate receiving opening is positioned and configured to enable a corner portion of the selected substrate at which a leading edge portion and the side edge portion of the selected substrate intersect to be inserted between the adhesive carrying and adhesive carrying and mask substrates. The opening may be of any size and configuration so long as the side edge of the selected substrate can be inserted between the substrate. The device further comprises pressure applying structure constructed and arranged such that the adhesive transfer operation can be performed by inserting the corner portion of the selected substrate between the adhesive carrying and mask substrates with a portion of the selected substrate extending outwardly from the substrate receiving opening and then advancing the mask substrate, the adhesive carrying substrate, and the side edge portion of the selected substrate together through the device and outwardly from the discharge side of the frame. The pressure applying structure applies pressure to the substrates being advanced through the device, thereby causing the pressure-sensitive adhesive on the adhesive carrying substrate to bond to the selected substrate.
Besides being capable of applying adhesive to a single edge of a selected substrate, the device of this aspect of the invention can allow for entire adhesive coverage for a selected substrate that is approximately twice the width normally accommodated by the device. Specifically, the user first applies adhesive using the device to one side edge of the selected substrate so that the adhesive covers about one-half the substrate. Then, the user flips the substrate around and applies adhesive using the device to the other side edge of the selected substrate so that the other half of the substrate is covered.
It should be noted that this aspect of the invention is not limited to the hand-held and actuatorless feature of the earlier aspect of the invention. To the contrary, this aspect of the invention may be practiced on an adhesive transfer device of any size with or without an actuator. For example, the substrate receiving opening feature of this aspect of the invention may be used with either of the above-mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,584,962 or 5,580,417, or U.S. patent appl. of Ensign, Ser. No. 09/564,587, filed May 5, 2000, the entirety of which are hereby incorporated into the present application in their entirety. In the arrangements of these incorporated patents, the nip rollers would correspond to the pressure applying structure.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.